FILM OF THE WEEK GODZILLA X KONG: A NEW EMPIRE

UK 12/ROI 12, 114 mins

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, available now on digital platforms, available from June 24 on DVD/Blu-ray

Starring: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Rachel House, Alex Ferns.

Kong reigns supreme over Hollow Earth, the fantastical self-contained ecosystem buried deep within the core of our planet while Godzilla rules the surface.

A peculiar electrical signal emanates from the hulking ape’s subterranean domain and Godzilla reacts to the disturbance by consuming vast amounts of nuclear energy.

Anthropologist Dr Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), who works for scientific organisation Monarch, assembles a research party to venture into the “nightmare monster hellscape” of Hollow Earth to locate the signal’s source.

Head of security Mikael (Alex Ferns) leads the expedition comprising Ilene, her deaf ward Jia (Kaylee Hottle), titan veterinarian Trapper (Dan Stevens) and conspiracy theorist podcaster Bernie Hayes (Tyree Henry).

The interlopers stumble upon the secret, bloodthirsty history of Skull Island and a powercrazed ape christened Scar King, who intends to annihilate mankind.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a monstermashing smackdown that unites two of the planet’s most powerful denizens.

Like a wrestling match, the outcome of director Adam Wingard’s cacophonous sequel is predetermined.

Battalions of special e ects wizards take over the asylum and excitedly decimate or desecrate landmarks including the Colosseum in Rome, Egyptian pyramids and the Rio de Janeiro’s statue of Christ the Redeemer.

When characters do materialise, they squeeze obligingly into pigeonholes – the maternal protector, the quirky love interest, the comic relief – and casually distil a ramshackle plot in expository dialogue.

It’s a far cry from Japanese blockbuster Godzilla Minus One, which used its Oscarwinning visual e ects sparingly and never lost sight of human lives ruined by large-scale devastation.